Exciting News about Historical Fiction Lovers Book Club!
January 21, 2009 at 5:50 pm | Posted in Books, Historical Fiction | 8 CommentsTags: Book Club of the Month, book clubs, Facebook, February book club pick, Loving Frank, Michael C. White, Nancy Horan, Soul Catcher
As I mentioned before, I joined the Book Clubs application on Facebook and started my own online book club ~ Historical Fiction Lovers. We started the club reading Loving Frank and seven of us completed the Reader’s Guide and Review form. There was some really good discussion, especially about Mamah and her choices. I found out that HFL was awarded the first Book Club of the Month award and I am SUPER ecstatic about it. Here is what was posted on the site about our book club:
A passion for novels blending history, literature and romance is what drives January’s Book Club of the Month: Historical Fiction Lovers. The group, created by Jennifer, is a good case study of how to run a successful online book club.
Jennifer, who juggles a career and a family, somehow finds time to blog (https://literatehousewife.wordpress.com), participate in reading challenges and run her group, Historical Fiction Lovers.
The group’s January selection is Loving Frank, a novel by Nancy Horan about a scandalous romance between the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mamah Cheney, a well-educated, independent and married Chicago woman. It’s not escapist fare.
As a leader, Jennifer sets a tone for the group by suggesting appropriate novels, and then discussing which novels will be read and when. She also organizes discussions in an easy-to-follow manner.
As a thank you, we will be sending Jennifer five books to distribute as she sees fit. Please let us know if you feel your group is ready for the spotlight in February!Historical Fiction Lovers is one of more than 100 public Book Clubs and 20 private ones created by our members. There are clubs built around specific authors or book series, some are regional, but most concern categories of books such as mysteries, romance or classics.
We are especially grateful to Book Club leaders such as Jennifer who help drive discussions, select good books and invite their friends to take part. We encourage every member to contribute new topics or respond to comments or questions by other club members. Book Clubs is a community-based application and member participation is vital to a successful experience.
On top of the honor of winning, my group receives five copies of our chosen book for February, Soul Catcher by Michael White. I’m awarding a copy of this book to the five members other than Rusty Weston, the soul behind Book Clubs, and myself a copy of Soul Catcher.
Here’s a brief description of the novel from the HarperCollins website:
Augustus Cain is a damaged man haunted by a terrible skill: the ability to track people who don’t want to be found. Rosetta is a runaway slave who bears the scars, inside and out, of a life of servitude to a cruel and unforgiving master. Her flight is fueled by a passion and determination only a mother could feel, and she would rather die than let anyone drag her back to hell. In a dark, volatile time prior to the Civil War, fate has bound the hunted and hunter on a remarkable odyssey from Virginia to Boston and back again—an extraordinary test of character and will, mercy and compassion, that will change them both forever.
Interested? Why don’t you join us? Click here
Historical Fiction Lovers Book Club
December 19, 2008 at 6:57 pm | Posted in Books, Reading | 10 CommentsTags: book clubs, Facebook, Fallingwater, Grand Rapids, Historical Fiction Lovers Book Club, Loving Frank, Nancy Horan, Ohiopyle
I really am enjoying Book Clubs on Facebook! I set up a book club for historical fiction called Historical Fiction Lovers and our first novel is going to be Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. One of my high school classmates suggested it a few months ago. I’ve been to Frank Lloyd Wright‘s Fallingwater near Ohiopyle, PA, but I had no idea that he was involved in a scandalous affair while working on a house in Grand Rapids, MI – my hometown! This makes me even more excited to read this novel.
What’s nice about having the book club on this application is that it allows for a wall like your Facebook profile, has a discussion board, and has a neat built in discussion guide form that each member can fill out. Based on everyone’s responses, you can really start some great conversations. I definitely like this more than just a stand alone forum. I think you will, too.
So far, ten people have signed up, but there’s always room for more! We’re going to begin our discussion on January 5th. If you’d be interested in joining us, here is a link to the club. You do need to be a member of Facebook, but it takes just seconds to join. I’d love to have you. If historical fiction isn’t your thing (for shame!), there are currently 52 other book clubs. Best of all, you can always add your own.
BTT ~ Clubbing
June 12, 2008 at 8:46 am | Posted in Books, Literate Housewives Book Club, Reading | 10 CommentsTags: book clubs
Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (ot, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion?
Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?
I have always been envious of those who are members of a book club. As an adult, I’ve attempted on two occasions to start my own book club. There was only one meeting for both. I’m not sure why they didn’t take root and thrive. Perhaps it was because both groups consisted of friends and/or co-workers that I see all of the time. The last attempt was held at my home and I made a spaghetti dinner that I served on the Currier and Ives china that my grandmother gave me as a wedding gift. I can’t remember the book we selected or even how we selected it. We did discuss the book, but not for long. It really ended up being a girls’ night out. It was a fun time, but my beloved book club just didn’t happen.
Living in a rural area that is at least 30 minutes from where there would be a face-to-face book club, I decided to try again using blogs. Last year I started Literate Housewives’ Book Club after deciding with my best friend, Trista, to read Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult. We chopped the book up into sections and I led the discussion. That book was terrible, to say the least. Trista and Blithely Blabbing were regularly participated in the comments, but there were others who participated as well. I enjoyed the experience despite the actual book. Our second choice was made based upon suggestions that we made. It was The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud. That book was by far, even compared to Perfect Match, the worst novel I read last year.
Blithely Blabbing hung in there with me despite the fact that LHBC was 0 for 2. We decided to start reading Water for Elephants at the beginning of this year and I received some really good comments from many different readers about how to hold an online book club. I never got that last book off the ground. The first part of the year was just too busy for me to keep up two blogs. I would still love to host LHBC, but I’m afraid that it’s dead. I’m not sure what would happen if I resurrected it.
Eventually my desire to read and discuss the same book with other people will drive me to try again, one way or the other. I hope to one day find the book club for me.
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